After winning his first professional fight, he lost four in a row. That will put doubts in anyone’s mind. He certainly thought about quitting.

Instead, he reinvented himself in the sport and soon found himself on a streak that won him a short-notice fight in the UFC. And though nerves certainly took their toll this time around, Hougland is confident he will soon be finishing opponents.

Hougland (10-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC), a bantamweight, nearly finished his first UFC opponent, Donny Walker (15-7 MMA 0-1 UFC), on several occasions at UFC 132 using a submission, which to him is proof positive of how far he’s come. Three of his four losses were by submission.

“I wanted to jump off a building,” Hougland told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) of his early-career losing streak. “But I didn’t know jiu jitsu at all. I was from a kickboxing gym. I would roll, but it’s like grabbing somebody off the street and rolling around with them.

“I figured I would give this jiu-jitsu a try, and I immersed myself in it. I trained in a gi for over a year. Then when I fought again, my jiu-jitsu was much better.”

Although Walker escaped the triangles and guillotines Hougland threw his way, he was behind on scorecards when the final tallies were read.

It was certainly a good start for Hougland, but he’d like to do better.

“I wished I would have finished him in a minute or something, but in the end, I’m happy I could do it on short notice,” he said. “With a full training camp, I’m going to push a wicked pace for 15 minutes.”

Just fighting to his potential was tough enough to do. Hougland makes no bones about it: He had the octagon jitters – before the event for photo shoots and paperwork, and definitely during the walkout.

“It was a really emotional experience for me,” he said. “I was almost crying going out there. I’m trying to stay focused, and I want to win, and it’s just so much going on in your head. But you’ve got to keep it in its place and perform.”

Then a different nervousness appeared. Walker had survived the submission attempts and charged back aggressively on the feet. Hougland was worried that the judges wouldn’t see his groundwork the way he did.

“I asked my corner after the fight whether I’d won, and they were confident that they had,” He said. “The cameraman told me I won.”

When it was made official, he relaxed.

Now, Hougland isn’t choosy about whom he faces next. He’s more interested in getting a full training camp in for his next fight.

Everyone thinks he’s Mr. Jiu-Jitsu with his performance this past Saturday, and that’s a good thing. When he returns, some new skills are going to be showcased.

He has no doubts that he made the right decision when he continued fighting.

“I got the minimum (medical) suspension,” Hougland said. “My leg’s a little sore from kicking and being kicked – a bruised knuckle – but other than that, I’m good.”

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